‘Mise en Place’

In the world of food preparation, there is a concept that is greatly emphasized– the concept of mise en place. Actually a French term, it means ‘putting everything into place’. Thus, mise en place is where before preparing a dish, a person first takes out the necessary ingredients in the required amounts, finds the utensils that will be used and ensures that everything is in a state of preparedness before commencing. Once ‘all the ducks are in a row’, it becomes easy for a person to prepare even a complex dish.

On the converse, imagine that just as the onions begin to brown, the cook realizes that the meat still hasn’t been washed and cut. As he rushes to wash and cut the meat, he realizes that he doesn’t have some of the necessary ingredients for the dish he wanted to prepare. As he rushes out the door to buy the missing ingredients, he realizes that one of the utensils that he will need has been lent to someone. Obviously, the result will be nothing short of a disaster!

Read more: ‘Mise en Place’

GPS Programming

From Garmin to TomTom and every GPS app besides – the choices are endless when it comes to finding a solution to safe navigation and guidance to the destination. With a GPS in hand, a person feels at home on even foreign roads, casually driving about and comfortably commuting from one point to the next.

However, imagine for a moment that a person is all alone and driving through the wilderness at night. Suddenly, he enters an area that is ill-reputed to be fraught with hijackers and robbers. As he enters this area, his GPS system goes absolutely haywire. The system ‘speaks’ and tells him to turn left, but when he glances at the screen, it clearly shows that he should proceed straight ahead without taking any turns. It is not farfetched to believe that this person would break out into a sweat and panic, as he would not know which direction to take in this most dangerous of places.

Read more: GPS Programming

Frozen Banana Pops

A fun (and healthy!) snack to make with your kids.

You will need:

6 bananas

280g of chocolate

12 popsicle sticks

Assorted chopped nuts/sprinkles/coconut

Read more: Frozen Banana Pops

Holiday @ Home

A person’s home is their ultimate sanctuary and place of comfort. Hence, when a child feels threatened, his first instinct is to run home, as home is the place of safety. As our homes are our private places, meant for our comfort and happiness, we tend to spend both time and money on ‘doing up’ our homes until they meet our desired level of safety, comfort, beauty and efficiency.

This is easily witnessed in the money that we spend on painting, tiling, alarm systems, electric fences, state-of-the-art appliances, furniture, linen, Italian flooring, granite counters, German bathroom fittings, air-conditioning, and so on. In fact, some people are so particular in this regard that every room of the home has its own theme to which the curtains, carpet, BIC (built in cupboards), linen and even light switches and plug points have to match!

After all the effort is undertaken and money is spent, the result is a home that is ‘tailor made’ to the exact ‘spec’ of the family living in it. Their home is exactly as they designed, providing comfort, security and even entertainment. Hence, many a home even has its own swimming pool!

Read more: Holiday @ Home

Honey and Garlic Chicken

Season one chicken cut into pieces with:

½ tsp salt

1 ½ tsp crushed green chillies

¼ tsp turmeric

½ tsp dhana jeeru

½ tsp lemon pepper

Roast 3 tsp crushed garlic in 2 Tbsp olive oil.

Add chicken and braise.

Add

4 Tbsp lemon juice

2-3 Tbsp runny honey

5 Tbsp mayonnaise

1 tsp mixed herbs

¼ tsp rosemary

Cook till almost done. Add 2 Tbsp of Steers garlic sauce. Simmer for a few minutes. Taste and adjust chillies.